cpadmin@publicbroadcasting.netNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Laura Sullivan is a NPR News investigative correspondent whose work has cast a light on some of the country's most disadvantaged people.Sullivan is one of NPR's most decorated journalists, with three Peabody Awards and two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Batons. She joined NPR in 2004 as a correspondent on the National Desk. For six years she covered crime and punishment issues, with reports airing regularly on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other NPR programs before joining NPR's investigations unit.Sullivan partnered with the PBS series FRONTLINE to produce an hour-long documentary investigating the Business of Disaster in May 2016, which examined who profits when disaster strikes. The film and radio pieces grew out of a series of investigations examining the American Red Cross in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake and Superstorm Sandy. The pieces were honored with her second award from Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press and her thirdNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Laura SullivanTue, 02 Aug 2016 22:57:28 +0000Laura Sullivanhttp://krcc.org
Laura SullivanA new report by the New York Attorney General's office finds that a lack of accountability in the nation's flood insurance program is costing taxpayers millions. The office also announced 50 felony charges against an engineering firm for allegedly writing fraudulent reports in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.The report comes after NPR and the PBS series Frontline aired a year-long investigation called "Business of Disaster," which uncovered how private insurance companies made millions in profit after Sandy while homeowners suffered.In the years following the storm, tens of thousands of homeowners came forward saying the National Flood Insurance Program shortchanged them, dragged them through years-long delays and hid information from them.The New York attorney general's office has now found flood insurance does not cover what it promises in its ads, that many engineers and others hired to evaluate damage were not qualified and that homeowners were wrongly prevented from seeingN.Y. Attorney General: Nation's Flood Insurance Program Defrauding Taxpayers http://krcc.org/post/ny-attorney-general-nations-flood-insurance-program-defrauding-taxpayers
52909 as http://krcc.orgTue, 02 Aug 2016 10:28:00 +0000N.Y. Attorney General: Nation's Flood Insurance Program Defrauding Taxpayers Laura SullivanThe American Red Cross spent a quarter of the money people donated after the 2010 Haiti earthquake — or almost $125 million — on its own internal expenses, far more than the charity previously had disclosed, according to a report released Thursday by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.The report also says the charity's top officials stonewalled congressional investigators and released incomplete information about its Haiti program to the public. It concludes "there are substantial and fundamental concerns about [the Red Cross] as an organization."The report follows a nearly yearlong investigation by the Iowa Republican and his staff, launched after coverage by NPR and ProPublica of the Red Cross' Haiti response. The venerated charity raised nearly $500 million after the disaster, more than any other nonprofit, but an ambitious plan to build housing resulted in just six permanent homes, NPR and ProPublica found.Other findings in Sen. Grassley's report:The charity insisted to congressionalReport: Red Cross Spent 25 Percent Of Haiti Donations On Internal Expenseshttp://krcc.org/post/senators-report-finds-fundamental-concerns-about-red-cross-finances
50927 as http://krcc.orgThu, 16 Jun 2016 09:07:00 +0000Report: Red Cross Spent 25 Percent Of Haiti Donations On Internal ExpensesLaura SullivanThis story is Part 1 of a two-part series. See our second piece about local recovery programs that are struggling to help homeowners here.On a cold rainy day last fall, dozens of people gathered in a plaza across the street from New Jersey's state Capitol. They held press conferences and slept overnight in lawn chairs.Everyone had come to make the same point: They'd made it through Superstorm Sandy, which hit the shores of New Jersey and New York in October 2012. But three years later, many hadn't made it home.Doug Quinn, a 51-year-old from Toms River, N.J., had been in the plaza for two days."I should be at home in my house and part of my community and instead I'm here doing this," said Quinn. "I thought it'll be all right; my insurance will take care of what needs to be taken care of and I'll be back home in three to four months. It's [been] three years and I'm still not anywhere close. I look back now and think how naive I was."Superstorm Sandy wasn't a disaster for everyone, thoughBusiness Of Disaster: Insurance Firms Profited $400 Million After Sandyhttp://krcc.org/post/business-disaster-insurance-firms-profited-400-million-after-sandy
50092 as http://krcc.orgTue, 24 May 2016 23:26:00 +0000Business Of Disaster: Insurance Firms Profited $400 Million After SandyLaura SullivanSen. Chuck Grassley is asking federal investigators to give him the names of officials at the American Red Cross who did not cooperate with the government's recent inquiry into the charity.Grassley, an Iowa Republican, sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office Monday morning saying that the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he heads, "has received additional information that Red Cross personnel did not provide unfettered access to the GAO even after multiple requests for relevant information."Grassley is asking investigators for a list of all the documents the GAO requested but "the Red Cross refused to provide," any records or emails the charity wrote that cite reasons for not providing records, and "a list of all the officials that did provide the material GAO requested.""The Red Cross is a federal instrumentality created by Congressional charter," Grassley wrote in the letter, "and receives millions of dollars every year from donors across the country. As such, the RedSenator Wants Names Of Red Cross Officials Who Did Not Cooperate With Inquiry http://krcc.org/post/senator-wants-names-red-cross-officials-who-did-not-cooperate-inquiry
40316 as http://krcc.orgMon, 28 Sep 2015 20:22:00 +0000Senator Wants Names Of Red Cross Officials Who Did Not Cooperate With Inquiry Laura SullivanThe American Red Cross is facing new criticism today as government investigators and a congressman call for independent oversight over the long-venerated charity.Federal legislation is being unveiled that would force the Red Cross to open its books and operations to outside scrutiny — something it has repeatedly resisted.The proposed American Red Cross Sunshine Act comes in response to a report by the Government Accountability Office, also being released today, that finds oversight of the charity lacking and recommends that Congress find a way to fill the gap.The GAO inquiry cites reporting by NPR and ProPublica about the Red Cross' failures during Superstorm Sandy and misleading statements by CEO Gail McGovern about how the group has spent hundreds of millions of donated dollars.Investigators concluded that the Red Cross needs "regular, external, independent and publicly disseminated evaluations."Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, is introducing the bill, which he saysRed Cross Effort To Shut Down Inquiry Fails; Report Calls For Outside Oversighthttp://krcc.org/post/red-cross-effort-shut-down-inquiry-fails-report-calls-outside-oversight
39747 as http://krcc.orgWed, 16 Sep 2015 09:01:00 +0000Red Cross Effort To Shut Down Inquiry Fails; Report Calls For Outside OversightLaura SullivanThe American Red Cross, which has often boasted of its transparency, attempted last year to halt a congressional inquiry into its disaster relief work, according to a private letter Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern wrote to Rep. Bennie Thompson.In the letter, McGovern asked Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and the ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to "end the inquiry" he requested into the charity and how it coordinates with the federal government. The Government Accountability Office was already four months into its investigation when McGovern went to see Thompson and followed up with the letter, which was obtained by NPR and ProPublica."As I mentioned at the end of our discussion, I would like to respectfully request that you consider meeting face to face rather than requesting information via letter and end the GAO inquiry that is currently underway," McGovern wrote on June 30, 2014, a week after they met.That was the first of two occasions in which sheIn Private Letter, Red Cross Tried To End Government Inquiryhttp://krcc.org/post/private-letter-red-cross-tries-end-government-inquiry
38536 as http://krcc.orgMon, 17 Aug 2015 09:01:00 +0000In Private Letter, Red Cross Tried To End Government InquiryLaura SullivanThe American Red Cross is under pressure this week to answer detailed questions from Congress about how it spent the nearly half-billion dollars it raised after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.Some of those answers might be difficult to come by. New documents obtained by NPR and ProPublica reveal that the Red Cross may not have an accurate accounting of how all the money was spent.The reports — internal assessments from 2012 of the group's health and water projects — found the charity failed in many cases to monitor its own spending, oversee its projects and even know whether the projects were successful. The documents also cast doubt on the accuracy of some of the Red Cross' public claims of success.One report found the Red Cross had "no correct process for monitoring project spending."Another pointed to $10 million the charity gave to other nonprofits to fight the spread of cholera. The review found the Red Cross did not evaluate any of the work by these other nonprofits, did not seemDocuments Show Red Cross May Not Know How It Spent Millions In Haitihttp://krcc.org/post/documents-show-red-cross-may-not-know-how-it-spent-millions-haiti
37454 as http://krcc.orgTue, 21 Jul 2015 19:06:00 +0000Documents Show Red Cross May Not Know How It Spent Millions In HaitiLaura Sullivanhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIrMDIU0C0 Haitian journalists pressed an official from the American Red Cross to explain how the charity spent almost half a billion dollars in the country — but got few answers at a news conference this week at Le Plaza Hotel in downtown Port-au-Prince.Frustrated journalists began talking over the official, Walker Dauphin, after he appeared to avoid providing details explaining where the money went, according to a video of the gathering.The news conference was a response to NPR's investigation with ProPublica into the charity — which found repeated failures on the organization's part to deliver on promises to help the country rebuild. The charity has so far declined to provide information on what programs it ran, how much they cost or what their expenses were. Many of the statistics the charity has offered about its work have been refuted by Haitian officials and by the Red Cross' own records.The Red Cross has faced repeated criticism this week fromAmerican Red Cross News Conference In Haiti Grows Heatedhttp://krcc.org/post/american-red-cross-press-conference-haiti-gets-heated
35829 as http://krcc.orgFri, 12 Jun 2015 14:06:00 +0000American Red Cross News Conference In Haiti Grows HeatedLaura SullivanWhen a devastating earthquake leveled Haiti in 2010, millions of people donated to the American Red Cross. The charity raised almost half a billion dollars. It was one of its most successful fundraising efforts ever.The American Red Cross vowed to help Haitians rebuild, but after five years the Red Cross' legacy in Haiti is not new roads, or schools, or hundreds of new homes. It's difficult to know where all the money went.NPR and ProPublica went in search of the nearly $500 million and found a string of poorly managed projects, questionable spending and dubious claims of success, according to a review of hundreds of pages of the charity's internal documents and emails, as well as interviews with a dozen current and former officials.The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people, but the number of permanent homes the charity has built is six.The Red Cross long has been known for providing emergency disaster relief — food, blankets and shelter to people in need.In Search Of The Red Cross' $500 Million In Haiti Relief http://krcc.org/post/search-red-cross-500-million-haiti-relief
35457 as http://krcc.orgWed, 03 Jun 2015 21:36:00 +0000In Search Of The Red Cross' $500 Million In Haiti Relief Laura SullivanTwo of South Dakota's largest tribes won a sweeping victory in federal court that could reverberate for tribes across the country.A federal judge has ruled that the state Department of Social Services, prosecutors and judges "failed to protect Indian parents' fundamental rights" when they removed their children after short hearings and placed them largely in white foster care.According to the suit, some of the hearings lasted less than 60 seconds. The suit says some parents were not allowed to speak at the hearings or in some cases hear why their children were being removed."In the past four years alone, hundreds of Indian children have been forcibly removed from their homes and subjected to these judicial hearings," says Stephen Pevar, a staff attorney with the ACLU which brought the case along with South Dakota attorney Dana Hanna on behalf of the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes."It's no wonder that the social services won a hundred percent of those hearings," he says. "All theFederal Judge Says South Dakota Officials Violated Native American Families' Rightshttp://krcc.org/post/federal-judge-says-south-dakota-officials-violated-native-american-families-rights
32761 as http://krcc.orgTue, 31 Mar 2015 22:26:00 +0000Federal Judge Says South Dakota Officials Violated Native American Families' RightsLaura SullivanSouth Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley starts her second term today. But absent from the inaugural ceremony will be a long-standing tradition: a poem read by the state's poet laureate.State officials say they cut the two-minute poem for time, but some residents suspect it was the mention of slavery that got it tossed.Poet Laureate Marjory Wentworth has written poems for South Carolina's past three inaugurations. She describes those efforts as "safe."The poems leaned heavily on nature and animals.But this year, she says, she was moved watching the protests across the country ignited by the deaths of unarmed black men. She wanted to incorporate some of that subject matter into her writing.She took to Facebook and asked South Carolina's residents their opinions and asked them to tell her what they thought she should write about."Some of them were quite beautiful," she said of the posts she got.Many suggested that the sensitive topic of slavery was the reason the poem was snubbed.Her FacebookFor S.C.'s Poet Laureate, An Inauguration Poem Without An Inaugural Audiencehttp://krcc.org/post/scs-poet-laureate-inauguration-poem-without-inaugural-audience
29470 as http://krcc.orgWed, 14 Jan 2015 08:14:00 +0000For S.C.'s Poet Laureate, An Inauguration Poem Without An Inaugural AudienceLaura SullivanCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Child welfare advocates filed a class action lawsuit this afternoon against the state of South Carolina, saying it has failed to protect thousands of children in its care. The advocates are demanding changes at a state agency that has faced repeated cases of child deaths and mismanagement. NPR's Laura Sullivan reports.LAURA SULLIVAN, BYLINE: For several years now, South Carolina's Department of Social Services has been criticized for mismanagement and abuse in its foster care homes. The state held hearings and officials promised change. The agency also recently got a new leader, but now the department is facing new criticism, this time from the children. The class action lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court in Charleston and it's based on the complaints of 11 kids in foster care.Sue Berkowitz is an attorney with South Carolina's Appleseed Legal Justice Center.SUE BERKOWITZ: The South Carolina Department of SocialIn South Carolina, Class Action Lawsuit Pits Foster Kids Against Statehttp://krcc.org/post/south-carolina-class-action-lawsuit-pits-foster-kids-against-state
29398 as http://krcc.orgMon, 12 Jan 2015 21:18:00 +0000In South Carolina, Class Action Lawsuit Pits Foster Kids Against StateLaura SullivanSen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, is asking the American Red Cross to explain inaccuracies in how it has said it uses public donations, citing questions raised by an NPR and ProPublica investigation.Grassley called into question how much of the charity's donations actually go to disaster services.The Red Cross, and specifically CEO Gail McGovern, have repeatedly said, "91 cents of every dollar that's donated goes to our services," according to McGovern's speeches and the Red Cross' website. But a recent investigation by NPR and ProPublica found that number is incorrect.According to the charity's tax documents, the Red Cross has spent as much as 26 percent of what people donate on fundraising. That doesn't even include management or overhead costs. That means the number could be in the 70s, or even lower.The Red Cross has declined to provide the actual number or a breakdown of its expenses.Grassley is asking the organization to provide those numbers, as first reported by the Chronicle ofSenator Asks Red Cross To Explain Its Financeshttp://krcc.org/post/senator-asks-red-cross-explain-its-finances
29279 as http://krcc.orgFri, 09 Jan 2015 19:07:00 +0000Senator Asks Red Cross To Explain Its FinancesLaura SullivanOlympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was sentenced to 18 months' supervised probation today after pleading guilty to drunken driving.He was arrested in September after leaving a casino in downtown Baltimore. Police documents show that he swerved over a yellow line while going 84 in 45-mph zone. Police say Phelps failed field sobriety tests and registered a 0.14 on a blood-alcohol test. In Maryland, the legal limit is 0.08.This is the second time Phelps, 29, has been convicted of driving under the influence. His first charge was also in Maryland in 2004. Following that conviction, USA Swimming banned him from the sport for six months, and Phelps went into a six-week treatment program immediately after the incident.In addition to these two DUI convictions, in 2009, the British newspaper News of the World published a photo of him with a marijuana pipe in his mouth. He was suspended from swimming for three months after that incident.Phelps had recently come out of retirement with plans toMichael Phelps Pleads Guilty To DUI http://krcc.org/post/michael-phelps-pleads-guilty-dui
28460 as http://krcc.orgFri, 19 Dec 2014 20:02:00 +0000Michael Phelps Pleads Guilty To DUI Laura SullivanThe White House says the devastating cyber attack on Sony Pictures was done with "malicious intent" and was initiated by a "sophisticated actor" but it would not say if that actor was North Korea.Spokesman Josh Earnest says the matter is still under investigation."Regardless of who is found to be responsible for this, the president considers it to be a serious national security matter," Earnest says.President Obama is holding daily meetings with his homeland security advisers and cyber coordinators to determine who is responsible and how to respond. Whatever action is taken, says Earnest, it needs to be "proportional.""They are considering a range of options," he says. But he adds that the president is also "mindful of the fact sophisticated actors are often times seeking to provoke a response from the United States of America. They may believe that a response from the U.S. in one fashion or another would be advantageous to them."Intelligence officials have turned their attention toWhite House Says Any Response To Sony Attack Needs To Be 'Proportional'http://krcc.org/post/white-house-says-response-sony-attack-will-be-proportional
28403 as http://krcc.orgThu, 18 Dec 2014 19:31:00 +0000White House Says Any Response To Sony Attack Needs To Be 'Proportional'Laura SullivanYoung women who are sexually assaulted are vastly unlikely to report those crimes to police, according to a newly released Justice Department report.Even more striking, women ages 18 to 24 who are in college or trade school are less likely to report such incidents than those who aren't in school, despite the increasing number of sexual assault advocates and counselors on campus in recent years.Only 32 percent of young women not enrolled in school reported they had been raped or sexually assaulted. Even fewer female college students — 20 percent — chose to go to police.When asked why they did not report the attack, women had several reasons:About one-fourth of both students and nonstudents said they believed the incident was a personal matter.About 20 percent of both groups said they feared reprisal.Other students and nonstudents said they did not believe the police "would or could do anything to help."More than twice as many student victims — 12 percent – said they thought the incidentStudy: Just 20 Percent Of Female Campus Sexual Assault Victims Go To Policehttp://krcc.org/post/study-just-20-percent-female-campus-sexual-assault-victims-go-police
28092 as http://krcc.orgThu, 11 Dec 2014 20:37:00 +0000Study: Just 20 Percent Of Female Campus Sexual Assault Victims Go To PoliceLaura SullivanThe Obama administration released new guidelines today to ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement officers. The guidelines replace ones adopted by the Bush administration in 2003.The new rules prohibit profiling based on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion or sexual orientation and apply to federal officers, such as the FBI and Secret Service and any local law enforcement that work with them on task forces.The guidelines, however, do not apply to screeners at airports or border check points.Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the review in 2009 and released the new rules in the wake of two high-profile deaths involving police: an unarmed black 18-year-old who was shot in Ferguson in August and a New York City man who had been held in a chokehold earlier in the summer."As Attorney General, I have repeatedly made clear that profiling by law enforcement is not only wrong, it is profoundly misguided and ineffective," Holder said in a statement. "Particularly inObama Administration Unveils New Limits On Racial Profilinghttp://krcc.org/post/obama-administration-unveils-new-ban-racial-profiling
27941 as http://krcc.orgMon, 08 Dec 2014 21:12:00 +0000Obama Administration Unveils New Limits On Racial ProfilingLaura SullivanCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: For many people the end of the year is a time to give to charity. But how do you know where your money is really going? For the past few months, NPR has been examining the American Red Cross and the organization's flawed efforts to provide disaster services in two of the last major hurricanes to hit the U.S. The charity's own documents suggest it put the appearance of serving victims ahead of actually helping them. Today, we follow the money. Red Cross officials have repeatedly said 91 cents of every dollar given to the organization goes to humanitarian services. But an investigation by NPR and ProPublica found that is not true. NPR's Laura Sullivan reports.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)LAURA SULLIVAN, BYLINE: American Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern has spelled out the Red Cross's promise to donors repeatedly in recent years.(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)GAIL MCGOVERN: Ninety-one cents of every dollar that's donated goes to ourRed Cross Finances Called Into Questionhttp://krcc.org/post/red-cross-finances-called-question
27886 as http://krcc.orgSun, 07 Dec 2014 12:38:00 +0000Red Cross Finances Called Into QuestionLaura SullivanThe American Red Cross's CEO, Gail McGovern, has spelled out the organization's promise to donors repeatedly in recent years."Ninety-one cents of every dollar that's donated goes to our services," McGovern said in a speech at Johns Hopkins University last year. "That's world class obviously."She said the same thing to the City Club of Cleveland in April. And the Economic Club of Indiana in June. The statement was also displayed prominently on the Red Cross's website.Laura Howe, Red Cross's vice president for public affairs, told a radio show in January it was one of the highest averages of any humanitarian charity."When you do give during the holiday season I think it's important that people know that and they can feel good about knowing that such a large portion of their dollar supports services," Howe said.The problem is it's not true.After questions from NPR and ProPublica, the Red Cross removed the figure from its website and said in a statement: "The language used has not been asRed Cross Misstates How Donors' Dollars Are Spenthttp://krcc.org/post/red-cross-misstates-how-donors-dollars-are-spent
27791 as http://krcc.orgThu, 04 Dec 2014 23:31:00 +0000Red Cross Misstates How Donors' Dollars Are SpentLaura SullivanCopyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Ohio State Football Player's Death Draws Attention To Head Injurieshttp://krcc.org/post/ohio-state-football-players-death-draws-attention-head-injuries
27644 as http://krcc.orgMon, 01 Dec 2014 21:35:00 +0000Ohio State Football Player's Death Draws Attention To Head Injuries